Black Waltz
by J.vanGreven
Summary: (Pre DMC5) I have been captured, imprisoned and enslaved, and yet I am not broken. My body had been torn, shredded and beaten bloody, but I never screamed. I will never kneel. (Vergil POV)


_Note:_

_This short story is an idea I had to get out of my system because it wouldn't let me go. It's the song: "Black Waltz" by Blue Gillespie. A dark piece that I stumbled across a few days ago. The lyrics just wouldn't let me go and I caught myself listening to it up and down with the urge to play Mission 19 & 20 from DMC5. Well, if that wasn't a coincidence. ;)_

_Long speech, short sense._

_Have fun with the short story about Vergil's captivity and his ultimate escape from the underworld._

**Black Waltz**

Life.

What does it mean to be alive? I breathed and could feel my own pulse. Every heartbeat roared in my ears, and yet I did not feel lively. But I wasn't dead either, was I?

There was nothing around me but darkness. An all-embracing blackness that robbed me of my senses. I could not speak, I could not see and there were no noises that I could listen to. When I had a body, I could neither move nor feel it. I knew neither where I was nor how long, I had been trapped here. There was no time in this place and if there was, I could not feel it passing.

The only thing that prevented me from losing myself completely were my weak memories that haunted me like nightmares. Like thick fog they wandered through my mind, whirled around in it and disappeared as suddenly as they had come.

The blurred face of a blonde woman smiled at me and behind her in the fog stood a knight in splendid armor who lovingly laid his hands on her shoulders. Then there was a white shock of hair and a dark voice that shouted something at me. I remembered crossed blades and a helping hand being stretched out towards me. I knew these were the last scraps of my memories of people I once loved.

Then there were those terrible screams. A chorus of the tortured voices of people and demons I had killed with my own hands. Then I stood in a sea of blood and three horrible, shining eyes, stared at me, a roaring laughter that seemed to come from nowhere ... And then it was dark again.

With each time the memories became weaker, the pictures faded slowly to shadows and I couldn't hear their voices anymore. Not for long, then they would leave me behind and disappear. I could only hope that my mind would go down with them.

Suddenly there was a quiet whisper. So quiet and tender that I at first thought it was an illusion. An imagination of my weak mind. However, it did not break off and slowly became louder. Like an echo this unknown voice rang in my head. It sounded distorted and it almost seemed as if several voices had merged into one.

_Vergil ..._

My heart started beating faster. The word sounded familiar to me.

_Vergil._

It was my name. It was I after whom the voice called. I wanted to answer her, scream, shout and beg. But I had no voice.

_Finally, we have found you, son of Sparda._

A tiny light gleamed in the darkness, it was hardly bigger than a firefly, and yet it shone so strongly that the black could not swallow it. Was this the source of this ghostly voice?

_Look at you, a mere shadow of your former self. Caught and forgotten in the darkness. The Demon King has been dead for a long time and his magic still has such power over you._

Forgotten? I tried to remember and to understand the meaning of her words, but in me there was complete emptiness. The small glow danced up and down in front of me. It began to flicker wildly and finally took on the shape of a glass sphere.

_Look closely and remember what he did to you, Vergil._

A pair of bright yellow eyes appeared on the surface of the sphere. They belonged to a demon with long, curved horns. He was clad in a black armor resembling that of a knight. His dark face was streaked with silver markings.

The scornful laughter from my memories returned, echoing through my mind, and a cold shiver ran through me. This was not a vision, it was a mirror. This monster staring at me from the crystal sphere was me.

No! That was a lie! That could not be true! I tried to move, to reach out for the demon.

I had to destroy him, forget him and bury his name back deep inside me.

_Remember._

The light flickered a second time and the terrible face of the dark knight gave way to that of a woman in white uniform. Her amber eyes looked hateful at me. Pitch-black, wavy hair played around her high cheekbones and reached up to her pointy chin. Her mouth moved, but no sound passed her lips.

Threateningly she raised her sword and aimed it at me.

Who was this warrior? How did I know her? And why was breathing so difficult for me when I looked at her?

The woman got ready to strike. A stabbing pain twitched through my heart like a hot needle just as the blade rushed down on me. But the pain vanished just as suddenly as it had come, and the woman's illusion dissolved.

_Go on!_

A man with white hair grinned at me. When his sword clashed with mine, I could hear him laughing: "Come on, big bro. That's all you got?"

_More!_

"We are the sons of Sparda. Within each of us flows his blood. But more importantly, his soul! And now, my soul is saying it wants to stop you!"

"D-ante." it was little more than a hoarse whisper, but it was my own voice that came over my lips. My heart was beating like wild and I could hear my blood rushing in my ears.

Approving, the light began to float around me.

_Just like that! Wake up, Vergil! Feel the anger and hate in you! Let go!_

Like an enchantment she repeated these words over and over again. Long forgotten memories roared wildly around me. Memories of my home and how I had to witness from a distance how it went up in flames, I remembered that I had to fought for my life, since I was a little kid, and my heart was in danger of bursting when the beautiful face of that female warrior appeared anew.

I remembered my defeat at the hands of Mundus, the prince of the underworld, followed by long years of torture and humiliation. Until I finally gave up and Nelo Angelo was born.

Heat rose inside me and suddenly I could feel my body. My limbs trembled with anger as I tried to keep my emotions under control. Slowly but surely my powers returned, I could feel them in my fingertips. The demon in me raged with anger.

_LET GO!_

The voice roared, and I did what it asked.

I tossed my had back and screamed. Blue light surrounded me as I mobilized my devilish powers. The darkness twitched and raved and wanted to devour me again. But I could already feel how those chains that held me captive down here for years started to break. My hands turned into claws and my face deformed into a sinister grimace with pointed teeth. Two blunt horns grew out of my skull and my skin took on a scaly blue color.

My weakened body hurt under the transformation, and yet I enjoyed every second of it. I had missed the feeling of this power so much.

I could already taste my own blood. I would not be able to maintain this form for long. There was only one attempt. This was my first and only chance to break out of this hell. I was not allowed to fail.

I went to my knees, folded my massive arms in front of me and concentrated on gathering all my strength in my center. Small flashes twitched over my body, my arms, legs and also my face and wandered down to my chest. My heart twitched and got out of rhythm.

I took a deep breath and held it deep in my lungs, blood trickling from my pointed teeth. For a short moment I remained in this position.

_Do it! Now!_

I roared up and let my power explode. The ground trembled under my feet. It spread like a merciless storm, fighting against the darkness that hissed and snarled as it tried to raise itself up again.

But it would lose this fight. The first cracks penetrated its black surface before it burst into thousands of pieces with a deafening crash.

My legs collapsed, and I fell on my knees. Coughing and wheezing my body changed back into its human form. I spat out blood and tried to get up but dropped to my knees again. I looked at my hands, black, pulsating veins winding under my ashen skin. Then I raised my eyes and looked at my surroundings. I was in a cave. Judging by the smell, I was still in the underworld. The glass sphere floated some meters before me.

"Show yourself," I said in a hoarse voice.

It lit up and the silhouette of a woman appeared before me. She looked exactly like the one I remembered. But that was impossible.

She smiled at me with those golden eyes and wanted to approach me.

"Stop your games, demon. You are not HER. It can't be, she's dead." I scratched the rest of my magic powers together and summoned a blue glowing dagger. With clenched teeth I managed to keep it in the air.

"And we thought that you would like our little masquerade. We chose it especially for you."

The woman's body went up in flames and in her place appeared a being so grotesque that it was hard for me not to look away in disgust. The demon's body looked like the corpse of a newly hatched giant chick. On its back were three women who had merged at the hip.

I tried to get back on my feet again. I had no weapons and didn't know what this demon was planning, so I had to stay on guard.

"Explain yourself, witch. What do you want from me?

The three heads giggled amused "Stoic and fearless. Just like in the stories about you. But don't worry, young Sparda. We don't want to harm you. We want to help you. Your body is already falling apart and if you do nothing about it, there will soon be nothing left of you except a heap of ash. But we have found something that can help you."

The witch conjured an illusion between us. She showed a young man with short white hair. I tried to get a look at his face, but the image flickered too much, I could only make out a pair of blue eyes. In one hand he held a sword. The shape of the blade seemed familiar to me, but I didn't give it another thought, because my gaze fell on his right arm. It was the arm of a demon.

"Yamato," I whispered. I could feel it. This boy had my sword in his possession. I broke away from the illusion and turned to the witch again: "Where is he?

"In the human world."

I nodded and started moving, I swayed with every step, but I had to hurry if I didn't want to disappear. I needed Yamato's strength to save this dying body. Behind me I heard the scratching and cawing of that disgusting bird as it followed me.

"Wait, Vergil. Where are you going?

I stopped but didn't turn around to the demon: "I'm taking back what's rightfully mine."

I went on, the demon followed me unasked. She told me the secret of Mundus' strength and how he used the power of Qliphoth to subjugate the underworld and ascend the throne. While I searched for a way out of this realm, I forged a plan.

Just you wait, Dante. This time we'll finish it.

_I have been captured, imprisoned and enslaved, and yet I am not broken._

_My body had been torn, shredded and beaten bloody, but I never screamed._

_I will never kneel._

* * *

_'m finally done. This text almost ruined my mind. I know it's not long but for me, with my weak English it was a torture._

_The woman Vergil is so fond of was not supposed to play such a big role in the beginning, but I couldn't stop myself. I'm afraid I'll have to give her a name. ;)_


End file.
